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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
matrix \ma"trix\ (m[=a]"tr[i^]ks), noun; pl. {Matrices} (m[a^]t"r[i^]*s[=e]z). [L., fr. mater mother. See {Mother}, and cf. {Matrice}.]
1. (Anat.) The womb.
All that openeth the matrix is mine. --Ex. xxxiv. 19.
2. Hence: That which gives form or origin to anything; as: (a) (Mech.) The cavity in which anything is formed, and which gives it shape; a die; a mold, as for the face of a type. (b) (Min.) The earthy or stony substance in which metallic ores or crystallized minerals are found; the gangue. (c) pl. (Dyeing) The five simple colors, black, white, blue, red, and yellow, of which all the rest are composed.
3. (Biol.) The lifeless portion of tissue, either animal or vegetable, situated between the cells; the intercellular substance.
4. (Math.) A rectangular arrangement of symbols in rows and columns. The symbols may express quantities or operations.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
matrix
noun
1: a rectangular array of elements (or entries) set out by rows and columns
2: an enclosure within which something originates or develops (from the Latin for womb)
3: the body substance in which tissue cells are embedded [syn: {intercellular substance}, {ground substance}]
4: the formative tissue at the base of a nail
5: mold used in the production of phonograph records, type, or other relief surface [also: {matrices} (pl)]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
63 Moby Thesaurus words for "matrix": Platonic form, Platonic idea, aesthetic form, archetype, art form, build, cast, chimney, chute, configuration, conformation, country rock, cut, deposit, die, dike, fashion, figuration, figure, form, format, formation, frame, gangue, genre, impression, inner form, intaglio, last, layout, lode, lodestuff, make, makeup, mineral deposit, mint, modality, mode, model, mold, negative, ore bed, pattern, pay dirt, prototype, punch, seal, set, shape, shoe last, shoot, significant form, stamp, stock, structure, style, template, turn, type, uterus, vein, venter, womb
From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:
Matrix n. [FidoNet]
1. What the Opus BBS software and sysops call {FidoNet}. 2. Fanciful term for a {cyberspace} expected to emerge from current networking experiments (see {the network}). The name of the rather good 1999 {cypherpunk} movie "The Matrix" played on this sense, which however had been established for years before. 3. The totality of present-day computer networks (popularized in this sense by John Quarterman; rare outside academic literature).
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
Matrix [FidoNet]
1. What the Opus BBS software and sysops call {FidoNet}. 2. Fanciful term for a {cyberspace} expected to emerge from current networking experiments (see {network, the}). 3. The totality of present-day computer networks. [{Jargon File}]
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